gnat

gnat
—gnatlike, adj.
/nat/, n.
1. any of certain small flies, esp. the biting gnats or punkies of the family Ceratopogonidae, the midges of the family Chironomidae, and the black flies of the family Simuliidae.
2. Brit. mosquito.
3. strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, to fuss about trifles while ignoring more serious matters.
[bef. 900; ME; OE gnaet(t); c. G (dial.) Gnatze]

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Any member of several species of small dipterans, most of which bite or annoy humans.

Midges are also sometimes called gnats. In North America the name is also applied to the blackfly, fruit fly, and other small flies that hover about the eyes of humans and other animals.

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▪ insect
 any member of several species of small flies that bite and annoy humans. Several nonbiting insects, such as the midges, which resemble mosquitoes, are also sometimes known as gnats. In North America the name is often applied to the black fly, midge, fungus gnat, biting midge, fruit fly (qq.v.), and other small flies that hover about the eyes of humans and other animals. In Great Britain the name usually refers to mosquitoes or less commonly to crane flies (family Tipulidae).

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Universalium. 2010.

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